There is also a second vitally important technique that underlies lucky people's ability to transform bad luck into good - and the thinking behind this one dates back thousands of years.
There is an ancient parable about a wise farmer who realised that many of the seemingly unlucky events in our lives often have an uncanny way of turning out to be lucky in the long run. One day, the farmer was out riding when his horse suddenly threw him to the ground. The farmer landed badly and broke his leg. A few days later his neighbour came to commiserate with him on his bad luck, but the farmer replied 'How do you know that this is bad luck?' A week later, people in the village were due to hold a special festival, but the farmer was unable to attend the celebrations because of his broken leg. Once again, his neighbour expressed some sympathy for his misfortune and, once again, the farmer replied 'How do you know that this is bad luck?' There was a terrible fire at the festival and many people died. The neighbour realised that the farmer's run of apparent ill fortune had helped save his life, and that the farmer had been right to question whether these events had been unlucky.
Many lucky people share the farmer's attitude towards the bad luck that they encounter. When they look back on their lives they often focus their attention on the benefits that flowed from their ill fortune. In Chapter Three we met lucky Joseph, a 35-year-old mature student who has experienced more than his fair share of life-changing chance opportunities. He also has an amazing ability to create good fortune from his bad luck. Joseph is now studying for a psychology degree, and leads a happy and law-abiding life. When he was younger, life was very different. He was in constant trouble with the police and, on one occa- sion, was arrested whilst trying to break into an office building and was sent to jail. Looking back, Joseph now thinks that this was one of the luckiest things that ever happened to him:
In my twenties I was hanging around with two other guys com- mitting lots of small crimes and burglaries. One night we decided to break into an office building. I climbed up on to the
roof and, I don't know why, but I had this sudden fear of heights. The alarm bells went off and the other two ran away, but I just couldn't move. The next thing I know, the police arrived and caught me. I went to court and was given four months in prison. Whilst in prison, I found out that my two friends went out on another job and were mistaken for some other local criminals who had a reputation for carrying guns. The police thought they were armed and so fired on them. One of my friends was shot and seriously wounded - he is now per- manently in a wheelchair - and the other was shot dead. Being put in prison was probably the luckiest thing that ever hap- pened to me.
Interestingly, I have often experienced a similar phenomenon. In fact, when I was performing as a magician, one of the unluckiest things ever to happen to me brought me a huge amount of good fortune in the long run. I had been invited over to California to perform at a very pres- tigious club for magicians - the Magic Castle in Hollywood - and was keen to impress. On the way over, I decided to stop off for a few days in New York. At the time, all the props for my act fitted into a small case, which, for obvious reasons, I always kept by my side. At one point I decided to get a snack in a fast food restaurant and put my case on the chair next to me. A short while later there was a disturbance over one side of the restaurant and I looked across to see what was happening. When I looked back, I realised that my case had been stolen. It had my entire act inside and I was only a few days away from performing. Worse still, many of the items were simply irreplaceable and so I quickly had to think about changing my complete performance. I went to a local store, bought a few decks of cards and returned to my hotel room. That night I found out the true meaning of the saying 'Necessity is the mother of invention.' I worked into the early hours, figuring out new tricks using the materials that I had at hand. Eventually, I rehearsed sev- eral items that I hadn't performed for years and actually invented two tricks. My new act was far better than my original act and the two tricks that I invented were later awarded prizes for originality from my fellow performers. I would never have bothered taking the time and trouble to create the tricks if my bag hadn't been stolen. Although I didn't realise it at the time, the theft was one of the luckiest things that ever happened to me when I was performing as a magician.
Lucky people use this concept to soften the emotional impact of the ill fortune in their lives. By looking back and focusing on the positive things that resulted from their apparent bad luck in the past, they feel better about themselves and the future. If bad luck happens to them, they take the long view and expect things to work out well in the end.